Back in 1988
by snowiipuffs
Summary: Jotaro and Josuke head to a local cafe to meet up with Okuyasu and Koichi when Jotaro is attacked by what seems to be a stand. There's just one thing that's bothering Josuke. Why did his nephew suddenly look younger? (Jotaro is de-aged to right after Dio's body is destroyed in the sun, takes place in 1999/Part 4. Rated T for lots of cussing from Jotaro and friends.)
1. Morioh, 1999

Josuke had met up with Jotaro to discuss the stand users popping up rapidly and their next plans of actions. They'd agreed on meeting at a local cafe to talk along with Okuyasu and Koichi and ended up meeting a few blocks away from their destination by pure coincidence. It was incredibly awkward, with Jotaro shutting down all of his attempts at conversation. Maybe the man was in a bad mood?

"Josuke," Jotaro abruptly muttered. Josuke perked up at the mention of his name after a few minutes of thoughtful silence. Jotaro halted in his light steps, looking off into the distance with a guarded look in his eyes. Josuke stopped too, tilting his head in question. Jotaro continued. "Do you feel like we're being watched?"

Josuke froze. Now that he mentioned it... the air was oddly quiet and eerie, and he had been uncharacteristically jumpy during their walk. Though there were people moving about on the streets, it was much too quiet. He knew Jotaro well enough to be able to hold an easy conversation with his nephew. The tension in the air rose tenfold and he paused to glance around with the subtle movement of his head.

The barely noticeable sound of a stick breaking forced the two to instantly press themselves back to back, fists clenched and stands ready to manifest at any given time. People wove around them, vanishing into the masses. For the next two minutes, nothing happened. Maybe Jotaro was just being paranoid?

Josuke relaxed his posture slightly, lightly laughing but still leaning against the older man's back. "Jotaro, I'm sure there's nothing to worry about. I think we're all just on edge because of Kira-" He was cut off when the body behind him suddenly flinched, enticing a groan from Jotaro.

In one fluid motion, Star Platinum- who had been summoned only half a second ago- vanished from the air before it was able to act and Jotaro crumpled to the ground with a grunt. Crazy Diamond had been summoned out of pure instinct, sweeping Jotaro up before he could hit the concrete ground.

Shit. What the hell? Was there an enemy stand user after all? He observed Jotaro's un-moving body. His eyes were shut, mouth slightly open in a cut off shout. There was no wound anywhere on his body- it would stand out easily against his white coat- and nothing seemed to be wrong. Again- what the hell?

Standing in the middle of the sidewalk wouldn't do either of them any good. He scooped Jotaro up after struggling to adjust to his weight and slipped into the nearest alley, leaning the man against a brick wall. He shook the man furiously, even lightly slapping his cheek in an attempt to wake the man up. Maybe he was wounded somewhere he couldn't see?

He called Crazy Diamond out again, holding his hands out to heal the man. A faint aura surrounded them both, yet as time passed, nothing seemed to happen. The alley was void of any noise except for Josuke's panicked breathing and the footsteps of pedestrians outside. Was Jotaro somehow affected by a stand without it wounding him? Was the stand's ability to cause it's victims to go into a deep sleep? He tried shaking Jotaro awake again.

He stared attentively at the man's slack face. Was it just him or did Jotaro look younger? It wasn't like his nephew looked much older than most high school students, of course, but it was obvious that he was aging. His skin had smoothed out- maybe Jotaro had used lotion today? The simple thought of it made him giggle a bit, despite the circumstances. He was cut short when the white hat on Jotaro's head tipped forwards slightly. Josuke lifted it up for the unconscious man, frowning. He'd never seen Jotaro's hat do that. Maybe it was loose?

Actually, Jotaro's hat couldn't exactly be loose- could it? It looked like it somehow merged into the man's hair at the back and was always a perfect fit, only drooping when force was applied to it. He doesn't think he's even seen the rest of Jotaro's hair before.

So was it just him, or did Jotaro's entire attire look too baggy on him?

Jotaro suddenly jerked, the sound of a subtle sparkle signifying Star Platinum's summoning. The humanoid stand had appeared next to it's flailing owner, something about it's coloration a bit off. Was Star Platinum always all purple? He could've sworn that it had some blue on it as well. Not to mention that the stand sported a red scarf and black gloves now. Why...?

Suddenly, hands were digging into his shirt collar, hoisting him up in one fluid motion. Despite how tall he was, his toes could only barely reach the ground as he was held up by Jotaro, who had a strand of hair sticking out from underneath his hat. He looked... panicked?

"J-Jotaro, it's me, Josuke!" He said, raising his hands up. Jotaro only narrowed his eyes. There was nothing but an icy coldness in his eyes, accompanied with confusion and a bit of hidden fear. Did he hit his head or something? "Can you put me down? We need to find the stand user who-"

He bit back a yelp of surprise as his back hit the wall. Josuke dared to make eye contact with the man.

Shit. He's pissed.

"Who the fuck are you? Where the hell am I? Where are the others? How do you know my fucking name?" He growled, tone harsh and threatening. Josuke gulped. Jotaro had always been a reserved and quiet type, blunt and straightforwards. To add to his hulking height, a simple glare could intimidate even the toughest. Yet, Jotaro was always more monotone and stone-faced then he was brash and rude. He only rarely heard Jotaro swear so intensely.

"I told you, I'm Josuke! You're in Morioh, and you just got hit by a stand! Calm down, we-" He felt his back being pushed against the wall harder now. Jotaro met his eyes with his own furious, burning blue orbs.

"Alright, 'Josuke,' you're gonna either tell me how the fuck I went from Egypt back to _Japan, _or quit fucking with me and tell me where the others are!" He narrowed his eyes. "You're one of Dio's underlings, aren't you? I thought we got rid of them all. If you don't answer my questions, I won't hesitate to reduce you into mush."

Now it was his turn to be bewildered.

Josuke furrowed his brows. "Wh- you've been in Morioh for _weeks, _Jotaro! Plus, isn't Dio that dude involved with the arrows? I thought he was-" Again, he was cut off by a looming fist.

"I said don't bullshit me! Where are the others?" Josuke's eyes widened. Did he remember Koichi and Okuyasu? Maybe his vision was messed up and he was seeing somebody other than him right now. But that didn't explain the whole 'Egypt' and 'Dio' thing he was talking about...

"Don't worry, they're fine! Okuyasu and Koichi are both probably waiting for us at that cafe- speaking of which, we should probably call them for backup if there's a stand user on the streets already," Josuke shouted, waving his hands defensively in front of him. Jotaro fumed.

"The old man! Polnareff! Where the hell did you hide them?" Josuke blanched again. Maybe Jotaro really did hit his head. What in the world was he saying?

"Who-?" He was saved from any more threatening as Jotaro suddenly grunted, his grip loosening as he lost balance and collapsed on the spot. Star Platinum, who had awkwardly stayed next to both of them, dissipated, leaving a stunned Josuke staring at the man's unconscious body once again.

He'd give anything to not have a repeat of that again. While unconsciously rubbing at his spine, He flicked out his cell phone, punching in Okuyasu's number and praying that he would pick up right away. It seemed luck was on his side for the first time today as he was met with the cheerful voice of his friend.

"Oi, Josuke! What's taking you and Jotaro so long? Koichi 'n I are practically dying of boredom over here!" Josuke quickly hushed him.

"Jotaro got attacked by an enemy stand. I don't know what it did, but he got knocked unconscious without any wounds. He woke up and I don't think he recognized me or anything I was really saying." The line was silent. "He passed out again though. We're in an alley near that one incense shop. Meet us there." He ended the call almost immediately, keeping his eyes on Jotaro at all times. He was lucky Jotaro decided to use his own fists instead of his stand's. If Star Platinum had been used, Josuke would've been positively screwed.

He sighed and sat against the cold, brick wall. All they had to do was wait.

After only about five minutes, Okuyasu and Koichi sped into the alley, spewing questions one after another.

"Should we bring him to my house?"

"Are you sure there's no wounds?"

"How long has he been out?"

"Dio? He mentioned Dio?"

"Why would he think he was in Egypt?"

"Doesn't Jotaro kind of look younger or something?"

That caught Josuke's attention. Okuyasu glanced at Koichi, who had said it, then back to Jotaro. His eyes widened.

"Dude, you're right! He looks around our age!" All three students gaped. So it wasn't just Josuke's imagination?

"...Do you think this was the stand's ability?" Koichi muttered. "It might've explained Jotaro's outburst. He could've been in Egypt when he was younger. Maybe a field trip, or something." Both Okuyasu and Josuke nodded.

Jotaro stirred. All three stands appeared from the students out of pure anticipation. It was doubtful that anybody would actually attack. Jotaro groaned, eyes flicking open as he tried to orient himself.

Star Platinum had materialized itself as well, but it seemed to only be helping Jotaro up. Once he was sitting up, however, he acknowledged the presence of the others. His eyes widened.

"Jotaro-" Josuke started.

"Star Platinum!" Shit.

"Crazy Diamond!"

The first punch landed on Crazy Diamond's forearm, the force behind it strong and heavy yet the punch itself appearing sloppy and weak. Was this how powerful Jotaro was in his prime? The second was more focused, aiming for his face. Black gloved knuckles hastily punched, too fast for the normal human eye to detect. Josuke struggled to keep up with blocking the attacks.

"Ora ora ora ora!"

The attacks were relentless, and just when he thought he couldn't keep up with avoiding them any longer Jotaro halted in his assault, Star Platinum's fist menacingly hovering only a few inches away from Crazy Diamond's face.

Josuke glanced at Koichi and Okuyasu who had both approached Jotaro and tried lowering his fists. Although they both had their stands out, all of them knew that encouraging the fight would only make matters worse. Jotaro glared at the two with an enraged expression, looking ready to punch their skulls in.

"Jotaro... I don't think you recognize us, but can you tell us what year it is?" Koichi muttered. Jotaro's stoic facade crumbled a bit, confusion clouding in his eyes. It was gone in an instant however as he pushed the two off of him, grunting.

"It's 1988. What are you, fucking delusional? It's the middle of the fucking month, how do you not know the damn year?" He snapped, not taking his eyes off of Josuke. "Where the hell are the others? I'll bash all your heads in if you don't tell me!"

Josuke suppressed a scream. Holy _shit, _the Jotaro they were talking to was from 1988. From _ten years ago. _His friends seemed to share the same shock. Jotaro's question flew over their heads.

Koichi fiddled with his fingers. "Um, Jotaro," he began. "It's 1999."

A deathly cold silence washed over the alley as Jotaro processed the new information. Josuke could practically see the gears turning in his head. If his nephew decided to not believe them, the only other option was to fight back if the man started attacking again. They all already knew how merciless the present-time Jotaro, and nobody wanted to see what this brash delinquent version of him could do.

"What?" Jotaro said, voice quiet. He towered over Koichi, stand abandoning its position by Josuke to loom over the shorter boy. Koichi gulped.

"W-Well, we think you got hit by an age reversal stand or something like that." Jotaro backed down slightly, sighing. Any panic or fear that had been displayed vanished under his poker face instantly.

"Yare yare daze... again?" He muttered, just enough for all three of them to overhear. Again? He pointed accusingly at Josuke. "So, in the future, I know all of you?"

Josuke nodded, recalling Crazy Diamond. "Yeah, it's... complicated," He chuckles nervously. Why did he feel so intimidated under Jotaro's glare? "But I guess we need to properly introduce ourselves then. I'm Josuke Higashikata." He decided to leave out the whole uncle-nephew thing.

Okuyasu spoke up for the first time. "I'm Okuyasu Nijimura, Josuke's friend!"

"I'm Koichi Hirose!" Koichi gave a small smirk. Jotaro didn't bother to respond and only scoffed, taking a look at his attire and cringing.

"To think I'd wear such a thing in a decade..." He scoffed. "Where do I keep my cigarettes? And where did I put my old clothes?"

Josuke gaped. Jotaro smoked? He'd either had kept the fact hidden or had quit later on. He thought it was the latter- the adult Jotaro didn't look like a smoker.

"I don't think you own cigarettes, Jotaro," Josuke said. Jotaro grumbled something before twirling around, preparing to take his leave. "But you stay in the Morioh Grand Hotel in room 324. I doubt you brought a decade old uniform though."

Jotaro continues walking with the new information, leaving the three students in the alleyway. He vanishes behind a wall.

"So... should we just," Okuyasu shrugged as he spoke. "I don't know, hope he doesn't mug somebody? Young Jotaro really gives off that vibe."

Nobody could deny that as they stood in silence, stunned at the interaction. Hopefully Jotaro didn't end up behind bars by the next morning.


	2. Cairo, 1988

It was only a short five hours later at eight that the Higashikata residence was called.

Josuke picked up, a bit on edge. He'd been worrying about Jotaro all day and prayed to dear God that the boy didn't murder an innocent citizen.

A rough voice spoke before he could. "Is this Josuke? The cops gave me your house number."

Goddamnit.

"J-Jotaro?! Where are you? What do you mean, 'the cops'? What-" Josuke shouted, before quieting his voice. The last thing he wanted was his mother to get involved with all of this. He was answered with a grunt.

"The hell do you think? Anyways, the Speedwagon Foundation's number changed or some shit. Mind telling me it? I'm assuming the number is public," Jotaro muttered. Josuke blanched. He'd forgotten that Jotaro had no idea that they were related, and only knew him as another stand user (who he hopefully viewed as friendly).

"U-Um, yeah, it's..." He rattled off the numbers with ease. The SPW was famous, so it wasn't suspicious that he knew the number, right?

Jotaro grunted again and hung up. Josuke sank back into his couch. Why did he expect Jotaro not to end up in prison so soon? He was thankful that he'd grown into a mature, cool-headed adult. He wouldn't know if Morioh would still be populated if Jotaro hadn't been assisting them all in their hunt for Kira. He just hoped that the SPW was able to bail him out as soon as possible for whatever the hell he had done.

He had a feeling he didn't want to know what Jotaro had done.

* * *

The next day, early in the morning, Josuke got another call. This time, his mother had woken him up and held the phone at his face with an exasperated expression. He could smell breakfast being made in the kitchen.

"Josuke, whoever's on the line _really _wants to talk to you because this is probably the fifth time they've called asking for you. Hurry up and talk to them!" She snapped, tossing the phone in Josuke's direction and leaving the room before he could respond. He caught the phone, fumbling with it before he successfully lifted it to his ear, cautiously speaking.

"Hello? This is Josuke, who-?" He began.

"Oi, Josuke! It's terrible!" Was there ever going to be a day where he _wasn't _cut off? The voice- who he could identify as Okuyasu- started screaming incoherent gibberish before starting to form proper words

"Okuyasu? What's going on?"

"Holy shit, Josuke! Right in front of my house there's- woah!" There was shuffling on the other line. "Jotaro's here! I think! It's like a murder scene! I don't think that guy's nose is even attached to his head anymore!" Josuke tried to not groan. Of course this was about Jotaro. He stood and threw on his clothes, ready to get to the scene before it _really _became a murder scene.

"Do you know who Jotaro's beating on? Actually- are you even sure that's Jotaro?" Josuke mumbled, running with the phone in hand towards the living room.

"That's definitely Jotaro! Star Platinum is out! And no, but he might be a stand user!" Josuke nodded before remembering that his friend couldn't see him.

"I'm coming! Get ready to get outside and help!" He yelled and slammed the receiver down. He quickly told his mother he was going over to Okuyasu's house and began to run.

He was only a few feet away when Jotaro, Star Platinum, and another man came into view. Okuyasu was behind his house gate, about to get involved. Jotaro had stripped of his iconic white coat and instead appeared to be in a modified school uniform with a chain dangling from his collar. Odd. His fist was raised and his other was clutching his victim's shirt collar. Blood leaked from an obviously broken nose and a split lip, and there was heavy bruising around the man's eye.

"I'll ask you one more time," Jotaro growled, aqua eyes burning into the man's face. The man squealed in his grip. "Do you work under Dio?"

The man shook his head furiously and Josuke could swear there were tears in the corners of his eyes accompanied by the blood and bruises coating his face.

"N-No! I-I don't know what you're talking about! I-I was hit by an arrow and then I got these powers and- and-!" Jotaro, seemingly dissatisfied with the answer, drove his fist into his face, effectively knocking him out. The man crumpled to the ground, eyes rolled back into his head. Jotaro scoffed and stood up, shoving his hands in his pockets, glaring at the unconscious body.

"Jotaro!" Josuke called, grabbing onto his nephew's shoulder. Jotaro reacted instantly, whipping around with Star Platinum ready to pummel his uncle. He halted, however, once he recognized his face. Okuyasu came running next to them, The Hand accompanying the student.

Jotaro grunted in acknowledgement, completely unconcerned of the bloody pulp on the ground next to them.

Josuke furrowed his eyebrows. "What the hell, man? Okuyasu saw you beating an innocent man to death!" He said, waving his arms at the man on the ground. Jotaro simply scoffed.

"Innocent? He was an enemy stand user who happened to try and jump me. He's probably one of Dio's lingering minions. That bastard had an entire army..." Jotaro trailed off, anger sparking in his eyes for a moment before vanishing. Josuke would've missed it if he'd blinked.

Okuyasu spoke up next. "Jotaro, why do you keep talkin' about Dio? I thought you said you killed 'im, so it's not a big deal anymore right?" Jotaro snapped his head towards Okuyasu in an instant.

"'Not a big deal'?" Jotaro hissed, causing for both boys to move back. Despite Jotaro being just a bit older than them, his very being was intimidating. It was like he was straight out of a superhero film and he were the main villain.

Josuke never knew much about his nephew. He was guarded and only spoke when he had to. The most emotion he'd ever seen out of Jotaro was probably a slight smirk, the edges of his lips twitching up just enough to be noticed by an observant person. He knew that the man had a strong passion for the ocean, as he'd watch as the man would stare out past the shoreline and his posture would relax just the slightest. He barely ever spoke about his relationships, and all Josuke really knew about the Joestars was that Jotaro was Joseph's grandson, therefore making him something like a nephew. He had no idea if he was married, didn't even know where the man lived, and he especially didn't know how he was like as a high school student. All Jotaro had told him about Dio was that he was long dead and he had some sort of involvement with the arrows. Okuyasu's dad worked under him apparently, which was what led him to his current state. All in all, Dio was a threatening force that Jotaro had put down long ago. There was nothing more to it.

Except, there was.

When they'd briefly interrogated Angelo, Dio's name had popped up. It was the first time he'd heard the name and pushed it aside, not giving two shits about whoever the hell he was. Jotaro, however, was pale. His breath had hitched and he stared past Angelo into nothingness as his expression morphed into one of disturbance and... fear? The biologist had been on edge for the rest of the day, a barely noticeable tremble in his hands- in which he'd kept shoved deep into his pockets for a majority of the day- accompanied with a waver of his voice. It was Josuke's first red flag on the topic and tried not to mention it around him.

Something must've happened when Jotaro was younger.

Jotaro jabbed a finger at Okuyasu, teeth bared in anger. Josuke debated whether to use Crazy Diamond and push Jotaro away before he struck out in an enraged frenzy.

"Just because he was reduced to ashes doesn't mean shit- his lackeys could still be around and they can strike at any fucking time," He snapped. There was a slight tremble in his hands, Josuke noticed. "I'm not gonna sit on my ass and relax and get myself killed, dipshit. They didn't die for us to just- they-" Jotaro curled his fingers into a fist and raised a shaking hand up to his hat, yanking it down with more force than necessary. Okuyasu's arm hesitantly rose in anticipation.

After an awkward two seconds of pure silence, Jotaro turned away from Okuyasu and Josuke, instead taking sudden interest in the bloodied body on the street. His hands were still shaking, but any rage or panic was gone without a trace, instead leaving the emotionless stoic face of the one and only Jotaro Kujo.

"You two," Jotaro said, tone monotone and even as he tilted his head slightly in the boy's direction. He'd dipped his hands into his pockets. "Do you know anybody by the names of Joseph Joestar or Jean Pierre Polnareff?" Okuyasu quickly recovered from the outburst and blinked.

_Oh no._

"Uh, Joseph Joestar?" He glanced at Josuke, who was internally begging for him not to say what he thought he was going to say. "That's Mr. Joestar, right? He's Josuke's-"

"Yes!" Josuke shouted, silencing his friend with a glare as Jotaro turned to him with narrowed eyes. Josuke blanched. "Um, I meant, yeah, we know Joseph Joestar. Not the Jean Pierre guy though."

Silence.

Jotaro shook his head with a shaky sigh. "Good grief..." He held out a still twitching hand, though it was slightly subsiding now. He locked eyes with Josuke. "Is there a payphone anywhere here? And I need you to tell me the old man's number..." He trailed off.

Josuke fumbled for his phone, placing it gently on Jotaro's wide palm without question. He stared at it longingly, praying that it would at least be functional by the time he got it back.

"His number should be saved on it, I think," Josuke muttered, growing uneasy under Jotaro stone cold eyes. Why was he taking so long to make a damn phone call?

Jotaro said nothing as he took the phone and dropped it in his pocket, turning away from the scene and stepping over the unconscious body on the road.

What- What the hell?

Okuyasu stepped forwards, ready to chase after him. "Oi, Jotaro! Where're you going? I thought you said you were gonna call Mr. Joestar!"

Jotaro didn't stop in his pace. "In private." Josuke wanted to cry.

"But- wait! You can't just take the phone, damnit!" Okuyasu shouted, breaking into a run. Josuke launched forwards and pulled him back, shaking his head with reluctance.

"Don't. Let him go- for now," Josuke half-whispered. Okuyasu's eyes widened. "Call Koichi and tell him to get here as soon as possible. We'll follow him in secret. He's not going to give my phone back anytime soon if we prevent him from making the call."

"Oh, alright then," Okuyasu whispered back. He pulled out his phone and Josuke took the time he spent pressing the number keys down to scurry over to the fallen man on the ground, conflicted on whether to heal him or not. As much as he felt bad for the guy choosing the absolute worst person to attack, he was technically their enemy after all- there was a high chance that he was a stand user too. Your average criminal doesn't go around assaulting guys who look like them can crush a grown adult with their bare fists. Jotaro was practically the embodiment of raw muscle and badassery.

In the end, he left the man there for some unfortunate civilian to find him. It wasn't his problem, was it?

In under five minutes, Koichi had joined them and they'd taken off instantly, tracking Jotaro's rather slow movements. The teenager wasn't familiar with Morioh at all and was bound to get lost, despite appearing to know where he was going. He'd stopped at the town map, looking disinterestedly at the various lines and boxes. The following students hid behind a wall, watching as he slowly took off in a random direction once again.

It was when Jotaro turned suddenly and vanished into an alleyway that the gang started to get suspicious. Making ominous phone calls in an alleyway to an eighty year old man was... sketchy, to say the least. Josuke lead them towards the alley, leaning against the wall and trying to appear as if he were simply loitering with his friends. He doubted Jotaro was doing anything weird, but just to make sure...

There was a quiet, faint ringing from inside the alley.

Jotaro was surprisingly smart to already know how to work technology from a decade into the future.

"Josuke? You never call, is something wrong, are you-?" Joseph's frail voice bounced off the brick walls surrounding Jotaro. Josuke had to strain his ears to just catch the words, either from how the call wasn't on speaker or how quiet the elder Joestar was.

"Old man," Jotaro cut off briskly. His tone was harsh, cold, and unwelcoming- yet there was some sort of weird affection hidden underneath it all. The alley was quiet except for Jotaro's slightly louder breathing.

"O-Oh, Jotaro, is that you? I can't hear very well these days..." Joseph trailed off. "You usually call from your cell phone though, so this is different... why...?"

"Old man," Jotaro repeated, strain evident in his voice.

Joseph seemed to sense the tension through the line, as his tone instantly became more sharp and serious. "Is something wrong, Jotaro?"

Koichi fiddled with his thumbs, obviously growing more uncomfortable by the second.

"Jotaro?"

He pulled out a photo from his uniform pockets and stared at it as if it'd done something to him. It displayed five well built men with an endless desert behind them all smiling for the camera. Josuke could swear there was even a dog in the picture.

"Egypt. Cairo," Jotaro curtly muttered, the trembling in his arms increasing almost tenfold. "You died, came back to life, we put Dio's body out in the sunlight, Polnareff got discharged. Kakyoin, Avdol, Iggy, they were- they didn't-" As Josuke peeked into the alley, spotting the back of the student. Jotaro tugged the rim of his hat down, despite being the only one in the alley. His hands were shaking even more now. "What happens after all that? Is mom alright? She's alive and well, right, old man?"

Josuke pulled himself back to the wall. Okuyasu slowly turned to him with an expression perfectly mimicking his current feelings.

What the absolute fucking _hell?_

So Joseph had been _literally fucking resurrected_, then they proceeded to stick a dead man's body in the sun like a _plant_, and this Polnareff guy was also involved. And Jotaro saying the word 'mom' in English was... kind of weird somehow.

Great, _amazing_. Never before had Josuke wanted context more than now.

"...are you sure you're alright? Did a stand attack you or something?" Joseph rasped. Josuke could swear he felt the frustration welling up in his nephew.

"Jiji, I swear to fucking God," He hissed, switching to Japanese for a second. "Tell me what happens. Please."

Maybe it was Jotaro's desperate tone or the fact that he'd said 'please,' but Joseph complied and began to retell a few events.

"We said goodbye to Polnareff and returned home. You finished up school and became a marine biologist, and even got yourself a woman and kid! Speaking of which, you ought to sort things out with her. I haven't seen Jolyne in so long..."

Everybody stiffened up at that, including Jotaro himself. He was married?!

"But Holly is in perfectly good health! She kept her stand, but it stopped killing her after you defeated Dio. Can't bring myself to remember it's name though, since it's barely around the house." Jotaro doesn't say anything. "Polnareff- well, I haven't seen him since he left Egypt on the plane to France, and he hasn't contacted us since. I'm sure he's fine though, if you could change so much in just ten years I'm sure he can take care of himself."

"I think that's really it. It really is shocking at how well the future turned out. Well, there's that whole situation in Morioh of course, but I'm sure you and Josuke can clear that all up with ease."

Another silence. Josuke glanced at a store owner who was looking at them disapprovingly from their shop window. He ignored it.

Jotaro drew in a breath, shuddering. He tucked the photo back into his pocket, sparing it one last glance of dread. Josuke tried to ignore the fact that Jotaro's shaking had caused him to miss his pockets a few times.

He couldn't.

"So this isn't all just a dream? Dio's really dead?" He murmured into the phone, leaning against the alley wall with a look of uncharacteristic relief.

Oh.

_Oh._

All three of them shared a miserable look.

Jotaro thought that this was all a dream? It did kind of make sense though. From what he knew, Jotaro had somehow been de-aged to right after when he'd defeated this 'Dio' figure and apparently cremated him or threw him into the sun (or something along the lines of that). As a result, his memories cut off there and all there was between that time and the present day was a black void. It must've been especially surreal, his memories coming to an end just during the aftermath of what seemed to be a huge- maybe even traumatic battle. It was no wonder Jotaro thought he would wake up and return to his reality. Maybe that was why he'd been acting so careless and doing whatever he pleased. Jotaro didn't hit him as the type to get himself into trouble if he didn't need to.

Joseph spluttered on the other end of the call. "A dream- no, of course not- why-? Of course Dio's dead, you and I both watched his body get reduced to ashes, you even said so yourself! Jotaro, please tell me if something happened."

And the boy spilled.

In a haste, the situation was explained with little to no detail and Joseph sounded slightly lost until Jotaro finally let out a few final words.

"-it's basically Alessi, but the effect is instant and your mentality doesn't revert over time," Jotaro muttered. His hands were only barely shaking now. "I don't know anything about the stand or it's user. Apparently I was jumped by them."

Another bleak silence.

Jotaro was the one to break it this time.

"Gramps, about... Kakyoin, Avdul and Iggy," He said in a hushed voice. The tension hanging in the air doubled. He swallowed down the emotions swirling in his chest. "They... did they get a funeral?"

_So they were killed by Dio. How terrible..._

Joseph's tone was grave when he replied in Jotaro's native tongue. "Yes. You attended as well."

Jotaro dipped his head slightly, giving a moment to pay his own respects in honor of the dead. Unconsciously, Okuyasu, Koichi and Josuke all did the same, bowing their heads ever-so slightly.

"I miss them, jiji." It was all but a whisper, but carried more emotion that Josuke thought Jotaro even had within him.

"I know," Joseph replied, voice quiet and comforting. Despite how Jotaro acted, he was still a child at the moment. "We all do. But we won, and that's what's important. They died for us to keep on living."

Quiet.

* * *

Surprisingly, the conversation eased into a better mood and was somehow made into a casual conversation between grandfather and grandson.

"I wonder how old you look now. Have you gone senile yet?"

_"What_ was that? Sorry, I couldn't hear you."

"Tch."

Joseph suddenly gasped. "Wait! Jotaro, what are you wearing right now?"

Jotaro scoffed. "My school uniform. Speedwagon Foundation had it hanging around for some reason so I asked for it when they bailed me out. Haven't told them of the situation yet though." He still wondered why his future self had given his school uniform up to the Speedwagon Foundation. It wasn't like it was some artifact- right? Shit, did something happen to his jacket?

"Oh my God! I can't believe I have to deal with my 17 year old grandson again! Were you lying about the de-aging? Did you time travel just to torture me? I don't think I'll survive your attitude, Jotaro!" Joseph practically screamed into the phone. It was good that the man still had his lively attitude despite his age.

Jotaro tugged his hat down again, lips twitching upwards into a grin. It felt nice to talk like this after everything. "That's too bad then, isn't it? Besides, you've lived for way too long considering the amount of planes you've crashed."

"Hey! I'm kinda proud of that..." Joseph pouted.

"Good grief... I'm going to get this portable phone back to that kid with the pompadour. Bye, gramps."

"Good luck finding that stand user, Jotaro!"

The call lasted a bit too long after their goodbyes, with Jotaro trying to figure out how to hang up and Joseph simply leaving his phone unattended after the call. Eventually, he'd ended it and pocketed the phone, stepping back into the light of Morioh. He doubts he'd been on the call for long, maybe a little over half an hour. There was a small chance that Josuke and his friends were still hanging around by that bastard who'd jumped him like the absolute idiot he was. Maybe stand users these days had become stupider somehow?

He wanted to question Josuke about a lot of things. Why did he have Joseph's phone number? Sure, he'd asked for it, but it was mostly a 'joke.' He just needed an excuse to get away from that shithead with the scar- Okuyasu, if he bothered to remember his name- and distract them from the fact that he'd just _exploded _at them and almost lost his composure. And why did he even know them in the first place? Was he on vacation here and just so happened to stumble upon them by sheer coincidence? Even so, he could never imagine a married 28-year-old marine biologist version of him making friends with a bunch of high schoolers. Why was he in Morioh anyways? Maybe it was apart of his job or something? The ocean here was indeed extraordinarily beautiful, sparkling with the reflection of the sun and clear as a cloudless sky...

He could interrogate the boy(s) once he found them and gave back the phone that he 'borrowed.' He turned his head and instantly moved back, greeted by three bodies way too close for comfort. Star Platinum let out a roar as he was summoned from pure instinct, looking ready to punch the offenders' faces in. All three moved back, giving Jotaro some space to actually _see._

Oh.

It was just them.

And they were all currently right next to the alley in which he'd made his phone call, not meeting his eyes as they tried to miserably act as if they were casually loitering.

Which meant they probably overheard everything.

_Everything._

"J-Josuke, wow, I can't believe we bumped into Jotaro! What a surprise..." Okuyasu chuckled, sweat pooling down his head. Josuke's eyes widened comically as he tried to look as shocked as ever while trying to drag Koichi and Okuyasu away with him.

"Oh, wow! J-Jotaro, what a coincidence, right?" He flashed the fakest smile Jotaro could ever imagine. He sighed and Star Platinum was behind them in an instant, face mimicking Jotaro's own _absolutely pissed _one.

"So," Jotaro started, gritting his teeth as he crushed Josuke's phone in his palm wish striking ease. All three students winced, and Jotaro ignored the fact that he sounded like an angry mother scolding her children, too busy burning with anger. "Mind telling me what exactly you were fucking doing here?"


End file.
